John Perez is not a household name. Yet. In the coming days, Perez may well make history, becoming the first openly gay speaker of any state legislature in the United States. 

This, from the California that narrowly voted to undo same sex marriage.  This from the same California...

California's Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on 5 March on two questions about same-sex marriage:

1. Is Prop. 8, which passed by a slim majority in November, an amendment to the constitution or is it a revision? Our friends at Lambda Legal, ACLU and other...

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has finally crossed the line to complete delusion. He succeeds so fully in gaining bootlicking adoration from the national media that he now actually believes that he can solve the...

I never joined the first two parts of the gay movement, neither around Stonewall nor AIDS. I was too young for Stonewall and too closeted for AIDS. I watched friends and acquaintances organize, fight and often win, friends such as Howard Bragman (now a powerful publicist),

Harry Truman famously said, "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

President-Prophet Thomas Monson, the leader of the Mormon Church, clearly does not read history. If he did, he'd know that he and his apostles could not stand behind the stone walls and parapets of...

Twenty years ago this autumn, I sat in the last Orthodox synagogue on Venice Beach here in LA, enrapt by Rabbi Daniel Lapin's sermon on the Torah portion for the week. It was Exodus 21, describing the obligatory freeing of slaves in Jubilee year:

"But if the...

California is deep, dark blue. Barack Obama will win our state by double digits because we live in a relatively progressive state.

But, for the first time in American or California history, men and women will lose their civil rights.

Sounds like a sick joke, right? Well, I...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an ardent backer of John McCain's presidential bid, showed us his real vision of a "post-partisan" future, only it looks very much like the Bush/Rove past. California, like the nation, faces...

The Republican tax cut cult, as Arianna so aptly calls it in her new book, has achieved its zenith in California. Here, if you must have a yacht or private jet, you can have it...

Bill Clinton's big speech at Sunday's California Democratic Party (CDP) convention in San Jose carried one message: "chill out." Let the ten remaining states cast their votes before deciding who the nominee is. Although the message seemed to be directed at the three thousand or so in the hall...

I wrote earlier this week that the 3 million "Decline-to-State" (DTS) voters -- as independents are called here in California -- can change the outcome of the presidential primary here on Tuesday, just as they have in other states. But, as Jennifer Steinhauer reported in the New York...

"Decline to state" (DTS) voters, as independent voters are clumsily known here in California, are the sought-after jewels of this election season of change. Watch CNN or CNBC read the numerous articles written by political pundits in the Los Angeles Times or the New York Times and the mantra is...

Al Gore is truth. Think about it. He says what needs to be said without fear, without posturing. He leads.

He succeeds in the worlds of politics, business, and diplomacy. He reads and writes history. He has access to the smartest people on the planet. He has a loving, close-knit...

Last year at this time, CNN ran a piece about the Courage Campaign's petition drive to move the California presidential primary forward from June to February 5th. Many doubted that our premise would be born out, namely that by having California competitive in the presidential primary, we might...

California, the state with the most delegates, Electoral College votes usually plays caboose to the Iowa-New Hampshire electoral locomotive. In an attempt to give the 23 million eligible voters a shot at picking the next president, California moved its primary to February 5, starting the avalanche that created the earliest...

A tiny town in the pristine high wilderness of eastern San Diego County made history tonight with the nation's first-ever up or down vote on Blackwater, the infamous, private mercenary army. The people spoke and the answer was clear: no to Blackwater. And a resounding yes to democracy. Would that...

CBS Weekend News broadcast a solid view of desperate Republicans who know that they cannot win the 2008 presidential election unless they resort to dirty tricks. As I have written here since August, Republican operatives, many with ties to Rudolph Giuliani, have been attempting to place on the...

The California Democratic Party killed without a vote the resolution to censure Senator Feinstein Saturday night in a crowded committee room, just a stone's throw from Disneyland. The destiny of the censure resolution was clear from the outset. Because the resolution had been submitted within 10 days of the...

We had dinner last night at Murano, a new West Hollywood restaurant, owned by gay circuit party promoter Jeffrey Sanker, and lesbian night club owners Robin Gans and Sandy Sachs. It's a visually stunning space, straight lines, whites and reds accented by brilliant Murano glass chandeliers (hence...

We couldn't make this stuff up. Brian Bonfiglio, vice president of Blackwater West, "I see a tactical operation center for East County fires," said Bonfiglio, noting that Blackwater's proposal includes water tanks capable of holding 35,000 gallons. "Can you imagine how much of a benefit it would be if we...